buying a volkswagon question

[walker1]

Hi all
Wife is interested in a 2019 VW beetle ..................... not my thing but shutting my mouth on this one.
Anyhow, all my recent vehicles have been ford trucks and I buy when the last year models are on the lot and feel good on the deal we strike. This being a VW I am not so sure of the process and doubt there is as much wiggle room.
Anyone go through this with this import?

[Dean2]

Ever since the diesel emissions scandal Volkswagen has had a lot of trouble selling their cars in North America, even though they are one of the largest car makers in the world. They have put on a lot of sales, promos, free accessory, cash discount, cheap lease finance rates, life time oil changes type deals to try and boost sales. Don't know if they are still doing them but I would shop them hard.

I do know the Volks dealer in GP always had way better deals than a lot of other places so would definitely be worth giving Gerry a call. (Not entirely sure he still owns it, there was talk a while back of it being bought by one of the big National multi chain dealers but may still be worth a call). Like any car dealer there is always a hungry one willing to make a deal near the end of the month and especially just before the new models are released.

[walker1]

The engine is gas 2.0 l turbo. I am aware of the emission cheating on the diesels. Ram got caught also with their ecodiesel a few years back.
Thanks for the reply.

[Dean2]

Originally Posted by walker1

The engine is gas 2.0 l turbo. I am aware of the emission cheating on the diesels. Ram got caught also with their ecodiesel a few years back.
Thanks for the reply.

Petty well figured it was a gasser, the diesel bugs were never that popular, don't thing they even bring them in any more. The diesel scandal really hit Volks in Canada on all of their models. New car sales had dropped over 50% at one time and included the gas engines. Volks lost a ton of credibility and people that buy Volkswagen tend to be aficionados/fans so they took the breach of integrity really hard. Never been a big Volks fan myself but a couple of buddies were, they reacted to the diesel scandal like most would to finding out their wives were cheating on them. Volks has had to work really hard to rebuild the trust level with their regular customer base.

Only reason I passed that on is it will help with negotiating a better deal to have that in the back of your mind. I wouldn't reference it specifically in negotiations because the dealers are still really sensitive about it but you can ask a lot of questions about reliability, how easy are warranty claims etc that refer to the whole trust worthiness issue without going at it direct. The more the dealer feels he has to talk you into a Volkswagen being a great car the more leverage you have on price. Best of luck.

[pinelakeperch]

I recently picked up a new Tiguan. Feel free to PM me if you have any questions regarding negotiating.

[ssyd]

This was my first new car so I probably got beaten up a bit but they weren't wiggling much on price. I ended up with Pirelli winter tires, a Solace starter and $1500 off sticker with my 2017 Jetta.

Not sure if all new vehicles are this bad but the service is stupid on this thing. My next visit for a Service C will "only" be $487 according to the service advisor. Plus $170 if it needs an alignment. Service D is over $700.

Buy a maintenance plan if you live near the dealership you're buying from.

[walker1]

Originally Posted by pinelakeperch

I recently picked up a new Tiguan. Feel free to PM me if you have any questions regarding negotiating.

pm sent

[walker1]

Originally Posted by ssyd

This was my first new car so I probably got beaten up a bit but they weren't wiggling much on price. I ended up with Pirelli winter tires, a Solace starter and $1500 off sticker with my 2017 Jetta.

Not sure if all new vehicles are this bad but the service is stupid on this thing. My next visit for a Service C will "only" be $487 according to the service advisor. Plus $170 if it needs an alignment. Service D is over $700.

Buy a maintenance plan if you live near the dealership you're buying from.

Those numbers are absurd! My 2017 350 diesel is cheaper to maintain!!

[Dean2]

Originally Posted by walker1

Those numbers are absurd! My 2017 350 diesel is cheaper to maintain!!

Maintenance and repair costs on ANY German made vehicle, Volks, Mercedes, BMW, Porsche are all completely wacky. I did all my own work on a 911 so it wasn't too bad but to have it dealer maintained doing 30,000 kilometers per year is just nuts. Figure at dealer prices, 6 oil changes, 5K interval, at 400 a pop, one set of plugs every 30K, $700, 1 set of brakes every 20-30K $3,000-$4000 depending on rotor wear etc, one set of tires every 10K $3,000 per set, major service every 20K $2,000 and that is not track running the car.

Probably the biggest reason I don't own German made cars any more. anybody that fails to factor those costs into the overall ownership costs is going to get a really nasty surprise.

[walker1]

Originally Posted by Dean2

Maintenance and repair costs on ANY German made vehicle, Volks, Mercedes, BMW, Porsche are all completely wacky. I did all my own work on a 911 so it wasn't too bad but to have it dealer maintained doing 30,000 kilometers per year is just nuts. Figure at dealer prices, 6 oil changes, 5K interval, at 400 a pop, one set of plugs every 30K, $700, 1 set of brakes every 20-30K $3,000-$4000 depending on rotor wear etc, one set of tires every 10K $3,000 per set, major service every 20K $2,000 and that is not track running the car.

Probably the biggest reason I don't own German made cars any more. anybody that fails to factor those costs into the overall ownership costs is going to get a really nasty surprise.

I wish she didn't want this rig!!!!
But it is half the price of what she was looking at ( hence shutting my mouth)

[Dean2]

Originally Posted by walker1

I wish she didn't want this rig!!!!
But it is half the price of what she was looking at ( hence shutting my mouth)

If Toyota made a version of the Bug life would be GREAT. Too bad it don't work that way.

Good thing about being half the price of the other choice, you save some up front and get to pay it back over the years of ownership. Works out about the same but at least isn't all up front. Try to negotiate maintenance into the purchase price till it comes off warranty then switch to an independent shop for your work. On a positive note, at least VW has about 20K KLM and one year more warranty than most other cars.

[bobtodrick]

Don't know if it's still the same but 15 years ago when the ex owned a Jetta for a while we took it to Northgate Volkswagon. There was a sign in the service dept:
Labour rate Volkswagon...$85/hr
Labour rate Audi.............$100/hr
Labour rate Porsche........$125/hr
Couldn't help but feel that for most basic work whichever mechanic was free worked on whichever car (realized that some specialized training might be involved for some of them).
I guess they figure if you can afford German cars you can afford the labour.

[pinelakeperch]

Originally Posted by bobtodrick

Don't know if it's still the same but 15 years ago when the ex owned a Jetta for a while we took it to Northgate Volkswagon. There was a sign in the service dept:
Labour rate Volkswagon...$85/hr
Labour rate Audi.............$100/hr
Labour rate Porsche........$125/hr
Couldn't help but feel that for most basic work whichever mechanic was free worked on whichever car (realized that some specialized training might be involved for some of them).
I guess they figure if you can afford German cars you can afford the labour.

German cars built in Mexico, lol!

[Stinky Buffalo]

Originally Posted by bobtodrick

Don't know if it's still the same but 15 years ago when the ex owned a Jetta for a while we took it to Northgate Volkswagon. There was a sign in the service dept:
Labour rate Volkswagon...$85/hr
Labour rate Audi.............$100/hr
Labour rate Porsche........$125/hr
Couldn't help but feel that for most basic work whichever mechanic was free worked on whichever car (realized that some specialized training might be involved for some of them).
I guess they figure if you can afford German cars you can afford the labour.

Ja, Northgate is a GoAuto dealership... That's another can of worms right there.

In general, I'm pretty happy with my VW... But I bought a bare-bones one, so my overall outlay wasn't much. Gets me from "Punkt A to Punkt B" and gets about 6L/100K. So far, so good.

[ssyd]

Originally Posted by pinelakeperch

German cars built in Mexico, lol!

And until last year they had a plant in North Korea. I wonder if they came pre-installed with a portrait of Kim on the dash.

[pinelakeperch]

Originally Posted by ssyd

And until last year they had a plant in North Korea. I wonder if they came pre-installed with a portrait of Kim on the dash.

I'll need a source for that one. Pretty unusual if true

[Trochu]

Keep in mind production is ceasing in July, 2019, so negotiation on the premise that a new model is coming likely won't work and if she is ordering specific options/color, she'd better hurry.

[blgoodbrand1]

Originally Posted by Dean2

Ever since the diesel emissions scandal Volkswagen has had a lot of trouble selling their cars in North America, even though they are one of the largest car makers in the world. They have put on a lot of sales, promos, free accessory, cash discount, cheap lease finance rates, life time oil changes type deals to try and boost sales. Don't know if they are still doing them but I would shop them hard.



I do know the Volks dealer in GP always had way better deals than a lot of other places so would definitely be worth giving Gerry a call. (Not entirely sure he still owns it, there was talk a while back of it being bought by one of the big National multi chain dealers but may still be worth a call). Like any car dealer there is always a hungry one willing to make a deal near the end of the month and especially just before the new models are released.

GP Volkswagen is owned by GP Auto Group. Approach with caution.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[ssyd]

Originally Posted by pinelakeperch

I'll need a source for that one. Pretty unusual if true

I just saw it on the list of assembly locations on the Mk6 Jetta and assumed they build them. Sounds like one of the country's two manufacturers, Pyeonghwa Motors licenses all sorts of models from different brands.

[honda610]

I bought a 2014 vw tdi sedan for commuting to red water and back to Athabasca. Lots of driving. I have 125 k on it had one wheel hub and a sensor go. They want you to maintain it there.....norden on 137. I said it's to far I'll change the oil myself. No problem everything else was on warranty. I get real world 850km to 50l of fuel. Driving at 100km an hour I get almost a thousand. Handles great just plug it in on the real cold days. When the emissions thing happened I laughed. They gave me 2 pre loaded Mastercard with 500 on each and a 6800 were sorry check. In the end the car costed me way less. I would not get a new vw diesel as they have the def fluid crap in them. I would not hesitate on a gas one though.
Good luck

[sailor]

Originally Posted by walker1

Hi all
Wife is interested in a 2019 VW beetle ..................... not my thing but shutting my mouth on this one.
Anyhow, all my recent vehicles have been ford trucks and I buy when the last year models are on the lot and feel good on the deal we strike. This being a VW I am not so sure of the process and doubt there is as much wiggle room.
Anyone go through this with this import?

Make sure it has engine oil block heater.
My wife’s Jetta doesn’t have one

[trigger7mm]

I have a Jetta diesel. Have had a lot of grief with it. Sensors failing, and very high costs of repair!! On the bright side, it is great on fuel. I won’t be buying another one, ever.

[Trochu]

Originally Posted by trigger7mm

I have a Jetta diesel. Have had a lot of grief with it. Sensors failing, and very high costs of repair!! On the bright side, it is great on fuel. I won’t be buying another one, ever.

Would I be correct in assuming you have a "fixed", or pre-emission scandal, version?

[Dr. Phil A]

Any VWs I've fixed required lots of cash unless you can find parts stateside.

Great when they are working but wow is all I can say when they need fixed.

Lots of leg room and head room.

If it is half what she was willing to spend in the end it will be equal.

[Stinky Buffalo]

Originally Posted by Stinky Buffalo

Ja, Northgate is a GoAuto dealership... That's another can of worms right there.

Whoops, my bad - that was Norden VW...

[trigger7mm]

Originally Posted by Trochu

Would I be correct in assuming you have a "fixed", or pre-emission scandal, version?

Yes I do.

[trigger7mm]

Originally Posted by Dr. Phil A

Any VWs I've fixed required lots of cash unless you can find parts stateside.

Great when they are working but wow is all I can say when they need fixed.

Lots of leg room and head room.

If it is half what she was willing to spend in the end it will be equal.

Exactly right!

[pinelakeperch]

Originally Posted by honda610

I bought a 2014 vw tdi sedan for commuting to red water and back to Athabasca. Lots of driving. I have 125 k on it had one wheel hub and a sensor go. They want you to maintain it there.....norden on 137. I said it's to far I'll change the oil myself. No problem everything else was on warranty. I get real world 850km to 50l of fuel. Driving at 100km an hour I get almost a thousand. Handles great just plug it in on the real cold days. When the emissions thing happened I laughed. They gave me 2 pre loaded Mastercard with 500 on each and a 6800 were sorry check. In the end the car costed me way less. I would not get a new vw diesel as they have the def fluid crap in them. I would not hesitate on a gas one though.
Good luck

They haven't sold new diesels in Canada since the "scandal".

Originally Posted by sailor

Make sure it has engine oil block heater.
My wife’s Jetta doesn’t have one

My Tiguan has a "battery blanket" as the oil pan is made of plastic and apparently would melt if it had a block heater. Seems unusual to me, but that's what VW says.

[walker1]

Originally Posted by Trochu

Keep in mind production is ceasing in July, 2019, so negotiation on the premise that a new model is coming likely won't work and if she is ordering specific options/color, she'd better hurry.

The beetle is done after 2019. The one we test drove was in stock and not base model but not top either.

Thanks you all for the comments. I hear Lexus has some good deals on until the 22nd but then the 60k plus jumps in!!!!

[Dean2]

Originally Posted by walker1

The beetle is done after 2019. The one we test drove was in stock and not base model but not top either.

Thanks you all for the comments. I hear Lexus has some good deals on until the 22nd but then the 60k plus jumps in!!!!

I drive a Lexus now because I got tired of the cost of running German cars, even doing the work myself. I bought my last Lexus with 46,000 Klms on it, spotless BC car with every option available, 3 years old. The original bill of sale was still in the owners manual, original price new was 93,000, I paid 32,000 all in used. About the same price as the Beetle new but a long ways from Beetle performance. It has a 4.3 litre V8 that gets 32 mpg on the highway, 27 in town and 0 to 100 KPH in 5 seconds. Take a look at a newer used GS350 (V6), they come in AWD, four doors and lots of go for not much more than the Beetle.